


once and again

by diana_hawthorne (dhawthorne)



Category: Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Genre: American Revolution, F/M, Historical References, Revolutionary War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-06 07:00:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17340776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dhawthorne/pseuds/diana_hawthorne
Summary: In some ways, when it starts, it reminds her of the conflict that brought them together, the one that took their family away from them. In others, it is utterly different.Cora reflects on the War for Independence.





	once and again

They know the war is coming long before it starts. Cora, a soldier’s daughter, can recognize the signs just as easily as Nathaniel and Chingachgook, two men whose lives have been shaped by both internal tribal wars and wars with the Yengeese. This war, they know, means everything.

In some ways, when it starts, it reminds her of the conflict that brought them together, the one that took their family away from them. In others, it is utterly different.

The war begins like this: restrictions on goods; taxes on every sheet of paper sold; the conscription of guns and rifles to prevent a militia.

They can’t fight against that, not really, though of course her husband and his father keep their rifles, and create a cache of as many they can get their hands on.

She’s on their side. In the ten years since the battle of Fort William Henry she has become American; she is English no longer. The Scots in her rejoices at the chance to fight against their oppressors.

***

Chingachgook dies a year before war is formally declared. The night after his burial Nathaniel turns to her in bed and weeps. He is silent; their son and daughter sleep in the next room, but still within earshot. His tears are endless.

***

A month later, a skirmish in the next town over prompts Nathaniel to address the situation.

‘There’s gonna be a war,’ he says, looking at their children. Their son, nine years old, is so like Nathaniel her heart aches when she looks at him. He is old for his years; he took Chingachgook’s death almost as hard as Nathaniel. Their daughter, six years old; her grey eyes regarding her father evenly. They are so different from her, when she was their age; she had no responsibilities and could run free; they know that they are instrumental to their continued existence.

‘It’s going to be a bad one, this time. The last war--we were on the move, we weren’t stuck in one place. We weren’t in a place without anyone else around--’

She knows where this is going. He’ll want them to settle in Albany, take refuge in Rensselaerwyck--they know the patroon’s family; she is close friends with Catharina, the current patroon’s mother.

He tells their children their imminent move, then backs up his reasoning with the stories from their last war. They listen closely, eyes wide and solemn. She shivers.

***

Thanks to her close relationship with Catharina, they are given a set of rooms within the manor house itself. Their son plays with the patroon, a boy his own age, and their daughter finds friends among the Van Rensselaer family too. Nathaniel slips away to continue his trapping; he takes the men of the patroon with him, helping them to secure better contacts for beaver fur. Although the Dutch no longer rule New York, the fur trade remains far more lucrative than farming.

She spends her days with Catharina, listening to reports of the war. The patroon’s mother is far more involved in the Americans’ movement than she would have supposed, although, thinking on it later, it makes sense. Rensselaerwyck stands alone; if the British win, they might take it away.

***

Winter comes, and Christmas. This year’s celebrations are festive and elaborate, nothing like the simple family traditions they have at home. Catharina pulls them both aside after the close of the Feast of St. Nicholas party and says, bluntly, that she wants Nathaniel to spy.

***

They both embrace this new role. Cora, working on needlepoint, picks up gossip from the soldiers who visit the patroonship. They pay her no mind and she learns almost more than they can use--more than Catharina, whose interest is well known. Eventually she makes friends with the wives of the British soldiers in the nearby fort, ears always pricked for new information.

Nathaniel, too, is essential to this effort. As a trapper, and one who is well-known throughout the area, he can pass information to the militia without suspicion. Their teamwork helps turn the tide of several battles.

***

Their children grow up in conflict. Her son, her beloved firstborn, joins his father along his trapping routes. Her daughter stays at home, attending lessons with the manor’s governess. She soon becomes proficient in many languages, including Latin.

As the war drags on, she just wants to go home.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a little at a time over a couple of months. I'm not sure when I'll continue it, but I wanted to put it up here!


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